Once a top-tier prospect, the hype surrounding Trey Ball has largely disappeared after the lefty has stalled in the lower levels of the minor leagues. The Boston Red Sox saw enough potential in Ball to draft him seventh overall out of high school back in 2013. At the time, the thought was that he would become the next big homegrown pitcher coming out of the Red Sox system. However, Ball stalled terribly in Single-A Salem, needing two full seasons before reaching AA.
After a rough season in 2014, going 5-10 with a 4.68 ERA for Low-A Greenville, Ball was sent up to Salem for 2015. Over the next two seasons, Ball suffered from terrible inconsistencies, showing flashes of brilliance but getting shelled at other times.
In ‘15, Ball put up a 4.73 ERA and a 9-13 record. 2016 was his best pro season, but Ball still featured rough patches. He did record a 3.84 ERA, sixth best in the Carolina League, to go with an 8-6 record. However, he followed that up with a disastrous showing in the Arizona Fall League, where he compiled a hideous 6.08 ERA. On Saturday, Ball made a very interesting season debut.
Ball inconsistent in debut
In a inconsistent AA debut against the Reading Fightin Phils, Ball featured both the promise that made the Sox draft him seventh overall four years ago, as well as the inconsistencies that have kept him stuck in the mud over the past few seasons.
Ball featured a low-90s slider to go along with a changeup, curveball, and a developing slider that when located right, was nearly unhittable. However, location was one problem for Ball on Sunday afternoon, as was his control.
Ball started his outing inducing a shallow pop-out to second base. However, he left his first pitch fastball over the heart of the plate and left fielder Andrew Pullin drilled it into the left-center field gap for a double. Ball responded with ease, needing five pitches to put away Carlos Tocci on strikes, eventually whiffing him on a 86 mph sweeping slider that befuddled many a Reading hitter on Sunday. He induced a fly-out to end the inning, and he sat in the dugout, watching his teammates stake him to a 1-0 lead.
In his next inning, Ball featured an inability to produce a critical lockdown inning after being given a lead. Instead, Harold Martinez opened the frame by ripping a hanging curveball off the center-field wall for a leadoff double. A single, sandwiched by a pair of walks followed the double to produce one run for the Phils.
Ball looked like he had settled down when he induced a run-scoring double play, but Scott Kingery followed the twin-killing with a sky-high double off the top of the Maine Monster in left field to score another run. Ball struck out Pullin to end the frame, but the damage was done, to both the scoreboard and his pitch count - Ball threw 29 pitches in the inning.
However, down 3-1 in the third, Ball looked like the best pitcher in the world, striking out two in a breezy 1-2-3, eleven-pitch inning. He started the frame by freezing Tocci on a letters-high 90 mph fastball, and he followed it by making Kyle Martin look silly on a slider that finished about a foot out of the strike zone. He induced a pop-out from Martinez to end the inning.
After the Sea Dogs staked him to a 7-3 lead, Ball responded, this time securing the lockdown inning with a little help from his defense, as Portland turned a double play to assist him in the speedy fourth inning. He hurled a perfect fifth inning as well, polished off by his fifth strikeout of the day.
However, Ball, given a chance to pick up a quality start, failed to finish strong, struggling mightily in the sixth inning. Two singles sandwiched a hit batsman to load the bases. Given one last batter, Ball managed to prevent the run from scoring on his watch, picking up his final strikeout on an elevated fastball. Reliever Taylor Grover allowed one inherited runner to score, giving Ball a final line of 5 ⅓ innings, seven hits, four runs, two walks, one hit batter, and six strikeouts.
Grover collapsed in the seventh inning, surrendering a three-run home run and a solo blast that tied the game, robbing Ball of a win in his AA debut. It should be an interesting season for the lefty, who hopes to establish some consistency, and maybe show Boston what he showed them in 2013.